Fans jubilant, cold limits celebrating crowds

Jan. 7, 2014

Written by

Arek Sarkissian II

Democrat staff writer

Though the excitement from Monday night’s championship game had Florida State fans cheering or jeering just about every play, temperatures in the 30s kept victory celebrations at reasonable levels.

Preliminary information provided by Florida State Police showed only two people were cited at the Civic Center watch party and crowds at post-game festivities were similar to any Saturday night.

“It’s cold, and I think that’s helping people decide they should probably just go home or stay home,” FSU Police Lt. Hank Jacob said.

One fan was jailed on a trespassing charge after police said he sneaked back into the Civic Center after being kicked out for using a women’s restroom. The other was cited and released on a charge of being a minor in possession of alcohol.

After the game, some fans headed to celebrate at College Town, where Tallahassee Police officers reported a jubilant but reasonable crowd.

Other fans headed to popular watering holes along West Tennessee Street, and TPD officers were not far behind to separate the throngs of pedestrians from heavy traffic.

The atmosphere at Potbelly’s on West College Avenue grew tense after bottles were smashed in the street and a fight broke out, but order was restored by TPD officers already on scene.

The cold put a damper on planned celebrations that originally called for the closure of roads by TPD around the intersection of West College and Macomb Street. By the 8:30 p.m. game time kickoff, the outside temperature had dipped to 32 degrees, which forced a deejay to cancel. A small stretch of College was still shut down, but it reopened 45 minutes after the game ended.

“No one showed up to celebrate,” Jacob said. “It’s just too cold out there.”

Tallahassee and FSU police officers had already anticipated a slow night due to the cold. As a precaution, the university lit up the field at Doak Campbell Stadium and the neighboring practice fields to prevent mischief.